Darien Lake is
home to Kingdom Bound, which takes place Aug. 1-4 this year. But first, three
of Christian music's top acts - Switchfoot, Hawk Nelson and Starfield - will
perform Saturday as part of Wonder Jam at Canada's Wonderland.

For these artists,
performing at a theme park is less about the rollercoasters and more about the
audience.

"It is kind of
an interesting phenomenon within the genre where the big festivals happen, and
people come from far and wide to be a part of it," Starfield vocalist Tim
Neufeld said in a phone interview. "There's a lot of great things about being
able to have that many people together, obviously, for the musicians," he said.
"It's fun for us to get up on stage and, you know, instead of doing 10 shows of
a 1,000, you get to be in front of 10,000 people. There's just that really
cool, electric, amazing atmosphere."

"It's just an
opportunity to just speak into, and influence and impact that many more people,
at the same time," he added. "It also makes for a better show when there's that
many people. There's just a real, I think, shared energy and excitement."

Even though the
bands have shorter sets (more acts = less stage time) Hawk Nelson frontman
Jason Dunn said summer festivals are a perfect opportunity to develop new fans.

"That's the
beautiful thing about festivals, you know?" he said by phone. "When you do your
own shows, it's like you have your own fan base or (people) that are coming to
see just you guys. But, you know, this time around we're playing this festival
(and) Switchfoot is going to be there. So, you know a lot of Switchfoot fans
are going to show up, and maybe they've never took a chance to listen to Hawk
Nelson before. So, hopefully they'll gravitate toward what we're doing and say,
‘Those guys are interesting.' You just kind of make new fans as you go."

Switchfoot
drummer Chad Butler said festivals allow musicians to interact with one
another.

"Festivals are
always an incredible chance to be on a big stage," he said in an interview.
"There's that energy in the air with that many people gathered in one place.

"We love
playing with other bands; getting to meet other musicians. I think there's,
sort of, a different chemistry that happens between the audience and the bands
when you're outside in a big environment like that. We look forward to those
shows."

Plus, Butler
said it's fun to play outside.

"We play most
of our shows during the year indoors in dark, sweaty rock clubs," he said. "To
be outside and just breathe in the fresh air is amazing. I look forward to it.
It's going to be an incredible chance to play music and enjoy the summer."

When
cooperative, Neufeld said nature is a considerable motivational tool.

"If all is well
... and you get a beautiful night, it can be just amazing," he said. "If the stars
are shining - especially in what we do - while you're trying to connect with
who we believe is the creator of those stars, it can be a really powerful
element."

Other acts in
the Wonder Jam lineup this weekend include KJ-52, Kristian Stanfill, David Nasser
and Manic Drive. For more information on the concert, or to purchase tickets,
visit http://www.premierfestivals.com.